Who am I? That’s a question that I have yet to find the answer to. I know that I identify with Christian values and beliefs. I am of African descent, because that’s what my skin color indicates. But, who am I? The complexity of that question is profound and I feel pressured to have an answer, but I don’t. I don’t believe that I’ll have the answer within the next few months or the next few years. However, through the experiences that I’ve encountered and the assistance of developmental theories, I can begin to unravel myself to expose the core of my true being.
Childhood experiences stay with us all our lives, even the bad ones. Unfortunately, my childhood memories are overshadowed by the dreadful circumstances that I had to endure. These …show more content…
The Theory of Intellectual and Ethical Development is composed of four categories: Dualism, Multiplicity, Relativism, and Commitment within Relativism (Evans et al., 2010, p. 85-86). The dualism category refers to viewing knowledge and life as absolute (Evans et al., 2010, p. 86). Through grade school and college all that mattered to me in the classroom was what my teacher said. I experienced the dualism category the most throughout college because to succeed in a course, it was best to memorize the professor’s notes and everything that he/she said. However, graduate school has encouraged me to look beyond the professor as a vessel of absolute knowledge. The multiplicity category outlines an individual recognizing that all knowledge isn’t absolute and that the opinions and viewpoints of others are acceptable for consideration when uncertainty arises (Evans et al., 2010, p. 86). In my graduate program, I’m still struggling to move out of dualism and into the multiplicity category. It’s a foreign concept for students to be knowledgeable about information enough to lead a class and for the professor to take a partnership in the learning process. I appreciate the opinions and thought process of my peers in a classroom setting even if I don’t agree with them. Having this ability to validate or invalidate someone’s viewpoints is a determinant in the relativism category (Evans et al., 2010, p. 86-87). The final category in the Intellectual and Ethical Development Theory is the commitment within relativism category. This category emphasizes the commitment that students make regarding areas such as politics, relationships, and career choices which aide in identity formation (Evans et al., 2010, p. 87). In the classroom setting, even though I’m open to the opinions of my peers, I determine what I believe. I can do
Childhood experiences stay with us all our lives, even the bad ones. Unfortunately, my childhood memories are overshadowed by the dreadful circumstances that I had to endure. These …show more content…
The Theory of Intellectual and Ethical Development is composed of four categories: Dualism, Multiplicity, Relativism, and Commitment within Relativism (Evans et al., 2010, p. 85-86). The dualism category refers to viewing knowledge and life as absolute (Evans et al., 2010, p. 86). Through grade school and college all that mattered to me in the classroom was what my teacher said. I experienced the dualism category the most throughout college because to succeed in a course, it was best to memorize the professor’s notes and everything that he/she said. However, graduate school has encouraged me to look beyond the professor as a vessel of absolute knowledge. The multiplicity category outlines an individual recognizing that all knowledge isn’t absolute and that the opinions and viewpoints of others are acceptable for consideration when uncertainty arises (Evans et al., 2010, p. 86). In my graduate program, I’m still struggling to move out of dualism and into the multiplicity category. It’s a foreign concept for students to be knowledgeable about information enough to lead a class and for the professor to take a partnership in the learning process. I appreciate the opinions and thought process of my peers in a classroom setting even if I don’t agree with them. Having this ability to validate or invalidate someone’s viewpoints is a determinant in the relativism category (Evans et al., 2010, p. 86-87). The final category in the Intellectual and Ethical Development Theory is the commitment within relativism category. This category emphasizes the commitment that students make regarding areas such as politics, relationships, and career choices which aide in identity formation (Evans et al., 2010, p. 87). In the classroom setting, even though I’m open to the opinions of my peers, I determine what I believe. I can do